More than just mushrooms, fungi recycle plant litter, help plants grow and are sources of many of our major medicines.

Fungi come in all shapes, sizes and colours (and smells). They occur all over the world, living on wood, roots, soil, leaves, insects, dung and even people. A fungus in Oregon, USA is the world’s largest living organism.

Our woodlands, grasslands, mountains and coasts provide special habitats for more than 12,000 species of fungi. Scotland is internationally important for the brightly coloured waxcap species that live on undisturbed grassland.

Scottish woodland provides homes for many fungi of conservation interest including the hazel gloves fungus and tooth fungi. Scotland is home to some species of puffball, such as the white-stalked puffball, which are not found elsewhere in the UK.

Ecosystem roles

Much of our wildlife depends on fungi.

Scotland’s fungi:

exchange food with plants to help them grow

tidy up fallen leaves and dead wood by decomposing and recycling

provide food and shelter for wildlife including beetles, slugs and red squirrel

Uses by people

We depend on fungi to help produce:

bread

cakes

biscuits

beer

antibiotics

cholesterol-busting statins

some paper and dyes

Some fungi are tasty to eat, but others are poisonous to humans. Always check with an expert and follow the: